Gipsy Hill Teacher Training College Archive

Records of Gipsy Hill Teacher Training College, a College set up to educate teachers of kindergarten and primary aged school children and a predecessor body to Kingston University. Originally based in Gipsy Hill near Croydon, the College was evacuated out during the war and subsequently moved to Kingston Hill. The College merged with Kingston Polytechnic in 1975, and the Polytechnic later went on to become Kingston University. The Kingston site of the College is now Kingston University's Kingston Hill Campus.

The Archive contains material relating to the College's first principal, Lilian de Lissa, as well as administrative records for the College itself including correspondence, meeting minutes, exam papers and financial records. Other memorabilia includes photographs, plans, copies of the Gipsy Hill newsletters, and other items. There is a significant collection of class photographs from the 1950s to the 1970s.

Gipsy Hill Teacher Training College was established in 1917 as a revolutionary College for the education of Kindergarten and primary school children. Originally founded on a site on Gipsy Hill, near Croydon, the College's first principle was Lilian de Lissa, an expert in education training from Australia. The College continued at the Gipsy Hill site until the Second World War, growing in popularity but suffering from failing buildings. During the War the College was evacuated, first to Brighton and then to a large house near Bradford. After the war in 1946 the College moved to Kingston Hill, where it continued to grow in popularity. In 1975 the College became part of Kingston Polytechnic, which later became Kingston University. The site of the College from 1946 onwards is now the University's Kingston Hill campus.

The records have become quite disordered prior to their transfer to the Archives, once full box listing has been completed it will be rearranged according to activity.

Open to researchers by appointment- please email archives@kingston.ac.uk. Appointments typically offered Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 9am - 4.30pm. For more information on Kingston University Archives and Special Collections please see our website at http://blogs.kingston.ac.uk/asc

Also see our archives catalogue here

Many items in the collection can not be copied from due to their physical condition or copyright law. Please send all copying enquiries to the Archive at archives@kingston.ac.uk

Transferred from Kingston University library